Welcome to the first edition of Forkliftaction.com
News for 2004. We wish you the very best for the year to come.
This year is shaping as a very exciting one for the world
materials handling industry, and Forkliftaction.com will be
right there reporting the latest developments to you. It's
also an exciting year in the development of the
Forkliftaction.com portal, but more on that
later...

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1.
THE WORLD ATTACHMENTS MARKET - PART ONEPORTLAND, OR, United StatesWelcome
to Forkliftaction.com's first feature article on the
world market for forklift attachments.
Forkliftaction.com's journalists highlight the major
developments during 2003 in this important market
segment.

Clearly the biggest market development
of 2003 was Cascade Corporation's USD6.5 million
acquisition of Italian attachments company Roncari Srl,
which primarily makes standard and specialised
attachments, in October.

2.
JLG INVESTS IN FRANCEMcCONNELLSBURG, PA, United
StatesJLG Industries Inc has agreed to buy the
remanufacturing inventory and equipment of Acces
Industrie, in Tonneins, France, for EUR2 million (USD
2.49 million).

JLG said it had signed a letter of
intent and the transaction was expected to close early
this year.

Under the deal, JLG will sublease from
Acces a 2,500-square-metre (27,000-square-foot) facility
built in 2001 for maintenance and repair of aerial work
platforms. JLG also leases a 7,400-square-metre
(80,000-square-foot) facility in Maasmechelen, Belgium,
housing boom lift, scissor lift and telehandler
operations.

JLG saw "a significant opportunity in
Europe for reconditioning services as an alternative to
new machine purchases", said Israel Celli, JLG vice
president of international sales, marketing &
customer support.

The pending transaction "builds
on our successful JLG Equipment Services remanufacturing
model in North America". For the year ended July 31,
2003, sales in Europe accounted for USD145.0 million, or
19%, of JLG's total business.

Founded in 1996,
Tonneins-based Acces operates more than 20 rental
agencies in France, Spain, Luxembourg and
Portugal.- JLG website
-

Kicking off the evening in dramatic style
will be the band Weapons of Sound, opening the
Oscars-style ceremony with its unique brand of
high-energy percussion.

Following a gala dinner,
dancing will begin in earnest to the sounds of Stax of
Soul and Soul Review. One of the most successful bands
in the north west of England, Stax of Soul is a 10-piece
that includes a rhythm section, a four-piece brass
section, and great vocals.

Completing the line-up
will be DJ Danny Searle with his acclaimed top of the
pops mix that reviews the classics and many forgotten
favourites from the 60s to the present.

Tickets
are selling fast for the annual awards for excellence
& dinner dance, which is at the Hilton Metropole in
Birmingham on Saturday February 7, so book now.- FLTA website -

Demand
for three-wheel battery forklifts was expanding due to
their ability to rotate easily in narrow spaces, the
company said. From today, Nichiyu will sell five models,
featuring energy-saving power control systems, with
capacities from one to two tonnes.

The forklifts'
prices vary between JPY2.18 million (USD20,500) and
JPY3.05 million (USD29,000) a unit.

Nippon
Yusoki, established in 1937, is listed on the Tokyo and
Osaka stock exchanges. Headquartered in Kyoto, the
company makes forklifts, order pickers, pallet trucks
and towing tractors and has offices in Japan, the
Netherlands, Australia, Singapore and
China.

Nippon Yusoki has two plants in Japan and
one in China, and reported JPY49.5 billion (USD466.7
million) in sales for the year ended March 2003.- Nippon Yosuki
website -

5.
SAFETY FIRST: WAYNE CHORNOHOUSVANCOUVER, CanadaMost forklift
instructors understand sit-down counterbalance
construction and how the basis for the "stability
triangle" can be explained and plotted.

The expansion
follows the merger this year of Moffett and Dutch sister
Kooi, both part of the Partek Cargotec Group, according
to an Irish Times report. Both brands would continue to
be offered.

The expansion would see the
establishment, over the next three years, of a
centralised component centre, producing masts for
truck-mounted forklifts in Ireland, the Netherlands and
the USA. A painting facility would also be opened in
Louth, Ireland.

Moffett Ireland general manager
Keith Quigley said the decision to locate the new
"centre of excellence" in Dundalk was a vote of
confidence for the town.

"Our component
production will almost double and our paint facility
will rival those in the automotive industry," he
said.

Moffett had traditionally enjoyed strong
sales in the US and UK, while Kooi was stronger in
Germany and the Netherlands. A merger made common sense,
Mr Quigley said.

"The strengths of both
organisations have been joined to ensure the customers
will benefit most," said Kooi general manager Dick
Vroonland.-
Partek Cargotec website -

7.
LINDE TO SELL REFRIGERATION BUSINESS?WIESBADEN, GermanyLinde AG may
offload its refrigeration business. The company severed
ties with Linde Refrigeration, granting it independent
legal status, on January 1.The new company, Linde
Kltetechnik GmbH & Co KG, based in Cologne-Srth,
has a workforce of 6,300 and facilities in Europe, South
America and Asia.-
Linde website -

Dr Michael Jones says
Queen Elizabeth's claim to the throne is false because
her ancestor, Edward IV, was illegitimate. The crown
should have passed through the Plantagenet line, which
today ends with Michael Abney-Hastings, 62.

Dr
Jones told the BBC that Edward IV, who reigned from 1461
to 1483, was conceived while his parents were 160
kilometres apart. His father, Richard Duke of York, was
at war near Paris, while his mother, Lady Cicely
Neville, was in Rouen, where she was said to be having
an affair with a local archer.

Mr Abney-Hastings,
who lives in Jerilderie, 640 kilometres (400 miles)
south-west of Sydney, said it was "very unlikely" he
would go to London and demand entry at Buckingham
Palace.

Over 35
years, Totall has solved material handling problems with
unique equipment such as the original patented "Layer
Picking Clamp". This four-sided clamp is used to lift
single or multiple layers of products, eliminating
manhandling during pallet re-stacking.

Another
innovation is the "High Visibility Rotator" with a
corrosion-resistant ring-gear used extensively in fish
and food processing plants where corrosion cannot be
tolerated. Check out our affordable Stainless Steel
Rotator!

For information on any of our products
please visit our website www.totall.net.

For further information, contact Annalisa
Castellini at +39-0523-5555-11, via e-mail at info@bolzoni-auramo.com, or see www.bolzoni-auramo.com.

Click here for the full text of this
release, including pictures.

12.
A.T.I.B. - THE HANDS OF YOUR FORKLIFTDELLO,
ItalyWith more than 30 years' experience in the
production of forklift attachments and masts, A.T.I.B.
is the right choice for all your handling
requirements.We offer you a great range of products
at competitive prices, and an efficient after sales
service.Please contact us via our website: www.atib.com.

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